A Marimo in Time
by 000000000000000000000Zero00000
Summary: Time can be a powerful thing, especially if you're on the wrong side of it. But to Zoro, nothing can truly sever the bonds between nakama. Time-travel, Zoro-centric, Nakamaship, no pairings.


_Fate can be such a funny word. I never needed to believe in any god because I knew that with or without divine intervention, I would fulfill my promise as long as I was resolute. _

_I doubt even God would have expected a 12 foot tall cyborg with paw pads to put an end to that idea so quickly._

_I don't know if it was an accident or on purpose, but on that day, that fateful afternoon on the Sabondy Archepelago, I learned first-hand the most terrifying implication of Kuma's power to reject anything from his touch._

_His hands did not send me to another island. They sent me to another time itself._

_I don't know what the hell was supposed to happen or whatever it was I was supposed to do. But two things were obvious: I was in a time where the Grand Line had yet to exist, and where there were no islands, only one great land mass with a handful of puny isles along the sea. _

_What was the second obvious fact? The continent I found myself on was home to a group of people so dedicated to battle that they learned to utilize every method of killing imaginable and damn near turn it into an art form._

_It did not take me long before I found my way into a village (I don't care what the locals said, the desert turned into a blizzard and then a forest, I was not lost.) and made friends, sort of._

_Long story short: they tried to kill me, I tried to kill them, they were impressed, let me stay, and gave me a job and training. _

_Over time I quickly mastered the use of haki (they called it Chakra, who cares?) to refine my katana, my body, and my environment (Brook's not the only one who can walk on water now). My stealth got somewhat less horrific and I don't even want to talk about what trying elemental jutsu did to my new home. In a few short months I was made an official jonin. Sometime after I was assigned to look after a VIP kid, no older than four. _

_His name was Naruto Uzumaki. _

_Most of the village told me to be careful, a smaller number expressed sympathy for whittling my years being a glorified babysitter. I didn't really care. The money was good, I had more time than ever to train and the kid's smile was, admittedly, infectious. He reminded me of Luffy._

_Time passed, I grew stronger, strong enough for my name to hit the top ten in the bingo books. My epithet was Sword King Roronoa, also known as King Roronoa, also known as the Mossy King Yama (a name coined by my wonderfully respectful charge and a jonin named Anko; the bastards). _

_Naruto also grew, not so much in the beginning, but after a few years trying to copy my weight training regimen, he gained a passable amount of muscle and strength. The kid was practically clinging to my ankle whenever I was home, and it got worse when he gained the mental faculties needed to realize the potential of swordsmanship. I swear I had to practically chain my swords to my neck for fear of him trying to commandeer one. ("But they're so cool!" he says. Sure kid, they are, bet you won't think they're so fun when Kitetsu realizes you're playing with him unsheathed!)._

_Regardless, I figured that if he was gonna be a ninja, he may as well have as many advantages as possible. So I taught him the very basics and made sure to hammer them in as hard as I could. If he wasn't broken and bleeding by the time I said enough, I'd add more to the next regimen. If I ever noticed the callouses on his hands fading, I ordered thousands of swings with weighted swords. I made sure to do triple what he was doing to show that it was humanly possible to accomplish what I was pushing him to do if he had the discipline and drive._

_It either had the opposite effect on his personality or he would've been much, much worse without me. Never listening, always with an endless supply of energy, constantly running around doing whatever the hell he wanted. It was as though Kuma threw Luffy's personality into a baby and dropped him on my lap._

_Maybe that's why I liked him. Maybe that's why I always tried to do right by him, even though it sometimes felt the village was about to whip up a riot and kick us out. _

_But since when have I cared about what people think of me? Besides, it wasn't as though they were angry enough to forget that Naruto had me looking after him. So I took responsibility for Naruto's behavior and trained him till he pissed blood as punishment. He insulted me, I insulted him, we finished breakfast, I send him off to the academy, I took a job from the hokage or trained until classes were over and waited at home with dinner. I can't say I'm worth shit as a cook, but as long as the nutrition gets in your stomach somehow, I really don't see the difference between eating food specially prepared, or just cooked enough for the bacteria on it to die. Sometimes we'd go for ramen._

_When the kid graduated, I was there to congratulate him on his success (though apparently everyone says "good job" hardly counts for much. Bah.). I gave him a small knife as a gift. The little ingrate complained about me being too cheap to get him a sword like mine, I bashed him on the head and told him the greatest swordsman in the world damn near gouged out my heart with a smaller one. THAT shut him up._

_Fast forwarding past all the boring stuff, (I trained, he went on missions etc.), there eventually came a time where he had to leave the village for two years to train under a toad sage. I waved goodbye and almost destroyed all forms of life in the forest of death. _

_When he came back he was taller than ever, and supposedly more powerful than he had been before. I also ended up becoming more powerful as the new Hokage's personal assistant (thankfully "assistant" was a euphemism for "kill whomever pisses me off and is too powerful to risk sending normal ninja on"). We met, we exchanged hello's and to my pleasant surprise he actually DID become much stronger and he had furthered his study of the sword, then sporting a respectable wakizashi._

_Unfortunately our reunion would not last forever. A war the likes of which no one had ever seen was on the horizon. Being the Hokage's assistant (and having a higher tolerance for alcohol than her) gave me the gist of what was happening: A group called the Akatsuki was fighting for demon hosts in order to extract their demons, usually at the cost of the host's life, and use that power to resurrect a being of supreme power in order to harness said unspeakable power to fuel a technique that would use the moon to place the entire world in a trance like state for the rest of eternity._

_FINALLY things were starting to act like they were in my time. The fact that the mastermind was rumored to be one of the strongest men in the history of the world was only icing on the cake. So here's how it happened:_

_The last two Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi fought against the man reanimating the dead._

_Gai, Kakashi, Naruto and another host, Bee, fought against the mastermind behind the entire plan._

_Finally, the five kage were up against one of the strongest men to grace the earth._

_What about me, you may ask? Sorry to say but I was a bit…_

"Lost" Tsunade muttered. "One of the strongest ninja of his generation and he can't even walk in a damn straight line without turning around and ending up completely off."

Smoke and dust swirled around the newly formed craters that the six masters had created. They were the five shadows, masters of fire, sand, water, lightning and stone. Apart they held the power to throw their piece of the continent in ruin. Together there was almost nothing that could stand in their way. However what they were facing was one of the very few exceptions.

Uchiha Madara: one of the first founders of the leaf village, rivaled only by the Shodaime, the grandmaster who could command the very power of nature itself. Formidable in life, a legend in death and a nearly apocalyptic crisis in revival.

The Kage's had banded together, worked as a team, complemented one another's skills, unleashed everything they had on him. And yet Madara still did not fall. The Rinnegan absorbed chakra based attacks, mokuton stood strong against any physical force, the sharingan saw everything and fed the owner what could happen, how it would happen and who would initiate the event in the span of nanoseconds. But most deadly were the decades of experience, knowledge and reflexes imbued in a youthful vessel. Yes, truly was there no specimen to be found as deadly as Madara.

"Oi, Tsunade, do you feel so hopeless you're willing to pin your hopes on some random jonin?" the Tsuchikage grumbled.

"The King is no random jonin" Gaara began "he single-handedly wiped out over half the invading forces during the sand-sound invasion."

"Regardless, comparing Madara to a mere invasion force is not particularly realistic."

"At this point it really couldn't hurt having him here."

"I'd say it wouldn't hurt having anyone here to help you" Madara interjected from his position on top of the cliff. "It's good that you managed to defeat my clones, it shows promise that the world hasn't atrophied completely yet. I think I may even have time to stretch." Various clicks and snaps were audible as Madara's armor fell to the earth. Dressed in a simple black shirt and trousers, he popped his newly unencumbered shoulders and hunched over. He spoke: "Don't die on me now." and disappeared.

The Raikage charged forward in an attempt to pull a haymaker. Madara slid under him and leapt to pull a spinning roundhouse kick with his momentum. He used the Raikage's head to further his jump.

He landed on a sea of sand and bolted across the artificial desert. Gaara spread his arms to incite a tidal wave from all sides. Madara rushed to leave through an opening only to find Tsunade's fist slamming him back down to the ground. Gaara's pyramid sealed itself only for the target to pop out of the ground thirty feet away and charge at the Mizukage. Mei threw her magma at him and mixed another batch with Gaara's sand to create an enormous set of glass caltrops in the far vicinity where Madara would land if he attempted to jump over the hot orange sea.

Madara indeed jumped, but used wood element to crush the glass. It was not long before he landed in front of Mei, jammed a kunai through both of her hands and kicked her at the Tsuchikage. The Tsuchikage caught her only for a rather large blade to connect the water and earth shadows in a painful, steel bond that entered behind Mei's back and left where Ōnoki's stomach was. Twisting the blade and ripping it out unmercifully, he watched as both collapsed and rushed forward where Tsunade, Gaara and Raikage were anticipating him.

Gaara quickly threw his sand as high as he could reach in an attempt to direct Madara's path. Playing along Madara continued to sprint along the stone ground and came face to face with a double fisted combo between Raikage and Hokage. Faster than their bodies should have allowed they continued to rain blown after blow on Madara in a desperate attempt to buy Gaara the precious time he needed to prepare his ultimate burial. Seconds, however, were a precious commodity that Madara was not so willing to bestow. Grabbing Raikage's only arm he snapped his wrist and spun him into Tsunade with enough force to break most of her ribs. Turning to Gaara and walking slowly, savoring the sounds, the sights and the smells of his long forgotten habitat, he lifted the Kazekage by the collar and muttered, "Goodbye," before swinging his blade at Gaara's exposed neck.

'_CLANG'_

Gaara opened his eyes to see the delay only to find Zoro standing next to them with one of his blades blocking what would have been his cause of death.

"Yo, Gaara" the marimo spoke casually.

"How are you, Roronoa-san?" the Kazekage responded politely, still suspended by his collar.

"Well enough. Who is this guy?"

"You don't recognize him?"

"Should I?"

"You're ignorance is almost as terrible as your sense of direction."

"Oi! You want me to cut you up shrimp!" Ticks very visible on Zoro's face.

"The man you are facing is Madara Uchiha." Gaara, anti-social as ever, breezed through the threat.

"Who?" Madara and Gaara almost sweatdropped.

"One of the most powerful men on the planet."

"Oh!"

Madara dropped the Kazekage and jumped a fair distance. "Who might you be?" the living corpse asked.

"Roronoa Zoro."

"Who?"

"I'll make this simple for the both of us." Zoro said as he tied his bandanna, adorned with the metal plating standard for those in the alliance, to his head. "You were number one back in your time, and now I'm the number one in this time. Care to see which is stronger?"

Madara smirked "Number one you say? How presumptuous. Why aren't you a kage then?"

"I've never been one who cared for rank."

"Interesting!" Madara charged at Zoro with his blade drawn only for Zoro to parry it with Wado and punch the man across clearing.

"Don't screw around fool!" he placed Wado in his mouth and drew Shuusui and Sandai "Hit me with everything you've got, Number One!"

Madara responded in kind by reappearing into Zoro's range, slashing at his head while calling his mokuton to impale him from below. Zoro countered by spinning on one heel, reversing his grip on Sandai and placing his swords on a course to sever Madara's head. No such luck, Madara ducked and delivered and uppercut. Zoro staggered and almost lost his face had Wado not been there to intercept.

"What an odd style" Madara commented.

"You should see the Raikage's brother. He uses eight at the same time."

"How are you speaking? Ventriloquism?"

"Hell if I know."

"Good answer."

Both jumped back and charged one another again. Zoro's technique was superior, but Madara's sharingan and reflexes were more than enough to compensate. Eventually they started to lull into familiar rhythm both were intimately familiar with.

To spectators, they just looked insane.

"_Now_ do you see why I wanted him here?" Tsunade grumbled as her ribs knitted themselves back together.

"How is he doing this?" Tsuchikage asked.

"He's stubborn, determined, and driven. He neither intimidates, nor is affected by gain or loss. All he wanted was to become strong. In that pursuit he has transcended good, evil, emotion, society, and even his own life."

"I see it wasn't just skill that earned him the nickname of King." Mei murmured wryly as she bandaged her stomach "you make it sound as though he is a being who stands above us humans."

"When he first arrived in the village all those years ago we tried to kill him, and so he returned the gesture. When we tried to befriend him, he agreed and didn't hold a grudge. When the Kyuubi attacked, he held off the bijuu for hours by himself until the fourth arrived, and even though he was in agony for weeks because of his wounds and the Kyuubi's chakra in them, he didn't hold it against Naruto and raised him as though he were family" Tsunade snorted slightly, "though that was a comedic experience in and of itself."

"Where are you going with this?" Ōnoki asked.

Gaara took over. "He lives by his own rules and his own principles. He does not allow anyone to change his mind or his opinion, and he acts based on what he thinks is right and wrong, regardless of the consequences, as a king would."

A sudden explosion ended the conversation as Madara and Zoro blew each other back.

Madara picked himself up and smiled. _It has been too long,_ he realized, _since I've last been able to feel this rush. He is strong._

Zoro reciprocated the feeling, though his smile was decidedly more sinister.

Sheathing all his swords he removed Wado and changed the positioning of Sandai to his other hip.

Madara prepared himself.

"Shishi Sonson." In a second Madara's sword lost its blade. Spinning around Zoro placed both hands on Shuusui and Sandai. "Rashomon." Madara would have been bisected if he hadn't sidestepped at the absolute last second.

"Katon: Great Emperor's Blaze."

A swipe from Sandai dispelled the flames as though they were mist on a summer day.

"Mokuton: wood blade." Two gray blades with tree rings adorning every inch sprouted from the earth into Madara's hands.

Charging from behind Zoro blocked Madara and prepared for a longer fight than expected.

* * *

Neither knew how long it had been since they began. Strike, block, punch, split, kick, breathe, fire, run, stop, contract, cut, chop, disappear, _**kill.**_

All these actions no longer registered as verbs or within whatever consciousness was left. In many senses of the word, they were so alike it was disturbing.

Madara was clearly a blade master.

Zoro was most obviously a monster.

Or was it the other way around?

One thing that was certain was that Zoro was, in fact, the perfect opponent for Madara. He never fell under genjutsu since one could never blot his connection with the breath of all things (a concept that no one except him and perhaps Yamato understood), he rarely, if ever, used chakra or ranged attacks, so the Rinnegan was, for lack of a better term, useless, and his inhuman stamina, strength and speed, fruits of decades of labor and work, allowed him to move on equal footing with Madara.

A challenge Madara had missed more than he realized _'I was wrong, Hashirama. There are still people worthy of us. Our legacy shall not rot as long as people like him continue to exist.'_

Dodging a slash that would have taken a chunk of his stomach Madara backed up and planted both weapons into the ground.

"Rorono– no, King. It's time we both end this."

Zoro grunted "What's wrong Number One, feeling tired?"

"No, but I am satisfied with this battle. All that is left is to decide the winner."

Zoro nodded briefly. "I understand. It was fun fighting you, ninja of the first generation."

"I reciprocate your sentiment, King."

Zoro closed his eyes and initiated his Asura technique.

Madara summoned Susanoo and used the Rinnegan's unique manipulation abilities to infuse his spirit with the god of sea and storms.

There they faced off. A god of carnage against a god who shaped reality.

No one knew what the signal would be. A breeze threw a batch of leaves in the air.

Both reappeared where the other once stood.

Zoro's chest took a heavy vertical blow from his right shoulder down to his hip. Madara stood still for a few moments before speaking. "When you eventually die, King, I will be one of the first to welcome you."

Zoro grinned through the pain. "Will you be ready for a rematch then?"

Madara's body began to grow gray and flake; his chest began the process of returning to ash. "Always."

"Wait for me then, Madara." Half the man's body was gone.

"I will, Zoro." Three quarters missing, seven eighths, one tenth, and then his return was complete.

Zoro sheathed his swords and collapsed towards the ground.

"Ja."

Then everything went dark.

* * *

_The sea was still feeding him its lullaby of water against the hull. Robin was reading next to him. Nami and Sanji were in the ship doing whatever he did not care to know. Luffy Usopp and Chopper were on the deck, playing and rolling in the warm green grass. Franky was tinkering with some new invention in his own little corner. Brook sat on the swing, laughing as he alternated between a soothing solo for him, and a lively ditty for the trio wrestling in the grass. Glancing up towards the sun and clouds, Zoro quietly rubbed his eyes and looked back down, only for everyone to be gone and the ship pulling itself down into the dark depths of the unforgiving ocean._

_Shit_

_Shit_

_**Shit.**  
_

"Shit!" Zoro gasped.

Looking around the field hospital, Zoro quickly recounted how he got in there, took his swords and quickly left to visit Tsunade.

Only the entire camp was deserted.

A giant black, _thing _smashed against the ground. Zoro looked up to see the owner. Snarling, monstrous, and terrifying it screeched a terrible sound he didn't think any living thing could make. Zoro fell to his knees until it stopped. Then he noticed, as he rose again, wide eyes and hands trembling as he gazed behind the creature.

Ten tails.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Tsunade roared at a near dead Tobi. The masked man shook his head in a slight sense of disbelief before finally breaking down and laughing. Tsunade picked him up and shook him violently. "WHAT HAPPENED?" She ground out.

Tobi's laughter finally settled down to giggles before turning towards the army assembled before him. "I messed up." He admitted. Then he broke into giggles again.

Raikage punched him into the ground. "What do you mean?"

Tobi picked himself up and sat cross legged. "I messed up" he repeated "I realized with the defeat of Madara that things were no longer in my favor and with the five kage ruining things further I would have to improvise." He paused before continuing. "I understood that I would need a threat greater than Madara to stop you all, and what better thing than the Juubei?" he waved his hand at his audience "I know, I know, I didn't have all the bijuu, and that's why I was so careful not to resurrect him until I had all the pieces. However" he glanced around "I read enough about chakra theory and bijuu abilities to understand that bijuu can regain power that they had lost by reabsorbing it through touch. It didn't take much thought to hypothesize that I could try reviving the Juubei early to add as a distraction, and have him feed on the other hosts later before I began my moon eye plan. However he would not be at full strength and that's why I didn't try it. Even if I was right, there was a greater chance he could be beaten than if I waited. Then things would have _really_ been ruined. Unfortunately, I was only half right. The Juubei can be revived without all bijuu, but apparently doing so is like having a child without all its chromosomes. There's something wrong with it. It's as sentient as a sandbox, and the only thing on its mind is regaining the power it should have been born with."

"So what does this mean?"

"You've got a giant monster running around the world that makes the Kyuubi's reign of terror look like a particularly nasty book report from the academy."

"One thing doesn't make sense though." Kakashi began "If it's after the bijuu it doesn't have, why did it leave when Bee and Naruto are here?"

Tobi shrugged "Who knows. There are over a dozen reasons I can list just off the top of my head. The best reason I can think of is that the process of rebirth was too overwhelming for it. The sights and sounds of explosions and battle must have been excruciating, so it ran away. For now."

"When will it recover?" Ōnoki asked.

"Hard to say. If it hasn't already, it could be anytime now."

"It went west, so Sora should be fine. If it's really after every scrap of bijuu chakra then that just leaves…"

'_OAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!'_

"ZORO!"

* * *

Zoro was making a tactical retreat. He was not running away and yelling at the top of his lungs like Usopp as a giant _thing_ with one eye chased him across the forest, hell bent on doing whatever Zoro did _not_ want to know, much less experience.

'_I've trained with masters, I went toe to toe with the Kyuubi, I freaking babysat a jinchurikki for over ten years and I just beat Madara, WHY AM I SCARED OF THIS?'_

He already knew the answer. It wasn't that he was still injured, it was because the Juubei was emitting an aura that didn't scream killing intent rather than desperation. The kind that one only sees in a man with nothing to lose so long as he gets what he needs. Normally, those types were dangerous. However that kind of sensation being directed at him by a monster who looked the conglomeration of a thousand different kinds of messed up was enough to make even him run for his life.

* * *

"Wait, why are we worried about Zoro?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade placed both hands on his shoulder and looked him in the eye "Listen, Naruto, when you were little and the seal hadn't been completely adjusted, the Kyuubi's-"

"Kurama's" Naruto interjected.

"_Kurama's_ chakra would build up inside and then release in sporadic bursts that had the potential to kill. I don't know how, maybe it was because he survived fighting with Kurama, maybe it was because of his powerful killing intent, but Zoro had an immunity to Kurama's chakra alone, and that was why he was an ideal choice to be assigned to you. Over time however it became obvious that Zoro was not only resistant, he was subconsciously feeding the chakra into his system. He's practically a bank for bijuu chakra, and with his experiences with Gaara, Bee, and you especially, he's practically a fucking firework to that thing."

Naruto's eyes widened "Crap."

* * *

"CRAAAAAAP!"

Zoro was really getting pissed now. After taking a few minutes the running stimulated his brain enough for him to ask himself how this was any different from _every goddamn day_ he spent with that idiot of a captain? He must have gotten soft, a situation he planned to remedy ASSUMING THAT MONSTER WOULD JUST STOP FOR A BLOODY SECOND!

"Amaterasu."

Juubi burst into black flames.

Zoro knew that voice "Itachi!"

The undead looked at him and smiled "long time no see, Roronoa-san."

"You look like shit."

"Would you expect more from a dead man?"

"I guess not. Are you here to help?"

"Whatever I can contribute, the mangekyo sharingan costs more than I remember."

Zoro quickly unsheathed his swords with a grin as he planned to take advantage of the monster's distraction. "Do what you want." And burst forward.

Juubi was still screeching in agony as Zoro rushed toward it. Running to the base of its feet he quickly slashed them apart and ran up its legs while cutting whatever he saw. Horn, bone, muscle, skin or blood, nothing survived the wrath of the Mossy King Yama as he tore Juubi apart like a pack of sharks. Leaving one final cut on its lone eye Zoro jumped off of it and admired his handiwork before watching it fade away in a great cloud of steam.

Zoro and Itachi bolted as it began chasing them again.

"It would seem it has superior healing abilities compared to the rest of the bijuu." Itachi commented casually.

"No shit!" Zoro shouted back. "I figured this wouldn't be easy but even Amaterasu's gone."

"Any thoughts?"

"Remember what happened the last time you asked my advice?"

"It seems being dead does come with some benefits after all… regardless, the best I can think of would be to use its regenerative powers until it runs out of energy. It should be possible since its missing the Hachibi and Kyuubi."

Zoro did not need any further instruction. Turning around he planted his feet and launched all the flying slash attacks he knew. Juubi wasn't even slightly phased as it kept charging towards him.

"Then again…" a still running Itachi's voice carried "considering it still has the power of 28 tails, the thought of exhausting all that energy in anything less than days is ludicrous in and of itself."

"TELL ME THAT EARLIER YOU BASTARD!" Zoro shouted as he sprinted to catch up to him. "This is ridiculous! We're both capable of taking out armies by ourselves and the most we can do it run away?"

Itachi placed his hand to his chin and pondered what Zoro said as though it were a new koan. Zoro waited for a few minutes, occasionally turning to inflict more damage onto Juubei before Itachi spoke. "Yes."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'YES'! WHAT WAS ALL THAT BUILD UP FOR?"

"I needed to think, you should try it sometime."

"IS NOW REALLY THE BEST TIME TO INSULT EACH OTHER!"

"Maybe not, I have an idea…" undead fingers reached into Itachi's robe, a small rectangular box materializing as he removed his digits.

He carefully offered the box to Zoro, "pockey?"

Zoro smacked Itachi upside the head, propelling him thirty yards away. "WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE POCKEY? IS THAT WHY YOU TOOK SO LONG? AM I LESS IMPORTANT TO YOU THAN CANDY YOU IDIOT?"

Itachi rose gracefully to his feet "A shame it isn't hurt by slapstick comedy, otherwise you'd have killed it by now." Then he smirked, "though it seems we stalled it long enough for the cavalry to arrive."

Zoro paused and felt it. Far enough that Juubi couldn't sense it but close to the point Zoro could feel it if he tried. In the trees, on the cliffs and under the foliage, shinobi of all colors and villages were gathered around them. Then the moment was gone as Juubi resumed it's assault on Zoro.

"Zoro," Tsunade barked from a tree branch "I need you for a mission."

"I'm kind of busy here!"

"Keep that thing occupied, don't you dare let it get bored of you!"

"Do I really have a choice!"

* * *

"Are the generals and seal experts ready?" Raikage shouted.

"Yes sir!"

"Prepare to fire! Bee, Naruto, don't stop feeding your chakra to them, and I don't want to see a speck of Bijuu chakra in that stream!"

"Got it!"

"A'ight bro!"

* * *

"Also, Zoro," Tsunade continued.

Zoro sidestepped a palm smash "What?"

Tsunade grinned evilly "Remember how to duck."

"Eh?"

* * *

"3,"

"2,"

"1,"

"FIRE!"

* * *

Zoro and Juubi paused mid-attack as they noticed the great blue cannon of light falling towards them.

"Crap."

_**BOOM!**_

* * *

The tectonic reverberations could be heard and felt for miles.

Grumbling, Tsunade lifted the rubble off of her and stood.

"How cruel, Hokage-sama" Itachi deadpanned next to her.

"Stuff it Itachi, we both know that won't kill him."

"That doesn't make it any less wrong though."

Tsunade didn't know how to respond to that.

"…Pocky?" he offered.

"Sure, thanks."

* * *

Groaning, Zoro dug himself out of the crater and rolled himself over. The sun was just beginning to rise from the earth and it painted Zoro's dusty coat of earth into cadaver-like shades of granite. He mumbled a quick "You are _so _dead Granny" as he saw her and Itachi spot and rush over to him.

"Everything fine Roronoa-san?" Itachi politely asked.

"Is your eyesight that bad Itachi? How the hell are you still alive anyway?"

"I should be asking you that."

"Both of you shut up" Tsunade bit out as she scanned Zoro. "I don't know how, but you seem fine. Give me a moment to look a bit further– CRAP!" Tsunade tapped her radio frequency and shouted into the microphone "Naruto, Kakashi, anyone there?"

"Yeah granny" Naruto responded.

"Naruto, put me on to Raikage, tell him to prepare the canon again."

"Why?"

"Zoro survived but lost all of the bijuu chakra he was storing, it protected him. If I'm right, the same thing will happen to the Juubi unless we hit it again!"

"!"

"Shit," Tsunade cussed "Zoro, Itachi, come with me."

"Granny."

"What!"

"It won't go down even with another hit from that cannon." Itachi stated.

"We can't run from this thing forever, and we can't fire at it indefinitely." Zoro finished.

"What do you propose then," Tsunade snarled "should we just roll over and die?" What Zoro said was just as bad.

"Seal it with Itachi, in me."

Tsunade blanched "What, but if we do that then…"

"I have a good chance at surviving; my body is used to bijuu chakra and I know you prepared a special seal just in case."

"But that's only for sealing demons into inorganic objects!"

"You always did say I had a head made of stone."

"Now's not the time for jokes! Itachi-"

"You know it must be done Tsunade. Both for the world and what we hold dear."

"But Zoro-"

"Is prepared to make the same sacrifice that Sandiame-sama, Yondaime-sama and myself have made. He is ready and knows about the risks. How can we not honor his resolve?"

Tsunade stopped and bit her lip till it drew blood "Fine. Just supply me with what chakra you have left, and we should be finished soon."

* * *

Tsunade stood between a still regenerating Juubi and Zoro on his back. She took a deep breath and performed her hand signs before slamming her palm into the ground, drawing a transmutation circle with Zoro and Juubi in their assigned places. "Itachi, prepare your chakra!"

"Understood!"

Lightning crackled within the circle's boundaries as the Juubi was converted into dark matter and streamed into a convulsing Zoro "Don't you dare scream jackass! This was all your idea!" Tsunade shouted through her tears.

Zoro clenched his teeth in response, but couldn't stop the strain from showing. _'I haven't felt this since Thriller Bark! Shit!Shit!Shit!'_

After what seemed like hours the last of the Juubi was done being downloaded into the new jinchurikki and the ritual circle disappeared, a dragon crest branded onto Zoro's abdomen being the sole remainder of what had just happened.

A spent Itachi limped over to a panting Zoro before collapsing. He smiled. "What a wonderful reunion."

"You call this wonderful?" _Pant_ "Don't be stupid."

"Still as blunt, even to the dead?"

"Especially to the dead."

"I missed you, Roronoa-san"

"Don't get sappy on me now you bastard, you still have to set the record straight with the village."

"A shame that would take time I do not have." Itachi responded cryptically before his body began falling apart.

"Why is everyone I meet today disintegrating?"

"Have you looked in the mirror recently?"

"How long before your mouth disintegrates? I want to see that."

"Heheh. Goodbye Zoro."

"Ja ne, Itachi. I might be following you soon though."

"My mother would love that. I would not."

"Just get out of here."

And as a content Itachi finally closed his eyes, the rest of his body broke apart and reunited with the earth.

Groaning, Zoro stood up, a difficult task with legs trembling like a newborn deer, and turned to face Tsunade. "Granny, let's get out of here, I'm sure the others will-" He stopped when he saw the regretful look on her face. "Oi, what's wrong?"

"You. Roronoa."

Zoro turned to face Raikage, Naruto, Bee, the other four Kage, the generals of the alliance and Gai. Most of them had serious visages. Only Naruto and Bee looked as confused as Zoro.

Zoro schooled his features, "What about me?" he asked gruffly.

"Tobi, Kabuto, and all the members of the opposing side have surrendered or died. The Juubi is all there is to destroy."

Zoro remained silent, A continued.

"You have performed exceptionally in this war; you will be remembered and honored among all villages and countries as a true shinobi, a true Jinchurikki. But I must ask you to for another grave favor as the commander of this alliance: will you please meet your end today?"

"Wait!" Naruto interjected. "Why should Zoro be the one to die! He holds the Juubi, so what? I have the Kyuubi and Bee has the Hachibi, but you aren't trying to kill us! Zoro's strong! He beat Madara and saved you guys. If anyone can contain the Juubi it's him! Are you really going to –"

"DO YOU THINK I WANT TO DO THIS?" A boomed. "DO YOU THINK I WANT TO KILL THE MAN WHO SAVED MY LIFE? WE HAVE NO CHOICE!"

Kakashi and Shikamaru stepped forward to back Naruto away from A. "Naruto, if we had more time we wouldn't be having this conversation. Zoro is weak right now, the seal he has is completely wrong, the Juubi's existence itself is unstable. We can't risk it escaping."

"Still–"

"It could be centuries, it could be years, months, days, hours or even seconds from now, but if the Juubi breaks out, it could kill Zoro and risk your life and Bee's. Zoro knew this and that's why he decided to become a sacrifice, regardless of the consequences or political fallout."

"It's not right."

"It isn't, but we have to do it." Nodding, Naruto backed away with tears threatening his eyes.

Kakashi let the teenager go and faced Zoro "the only question now, Zoro, is if you'll go down quietly."

Zoro smirked and fingered his katana, still together and at his side despite the entropy the night had brought. "I was never one for dying quietly in my sleep," Everyone tensed. "but it seems I don't have much choice when you all ask me like that."

Sighing in relief and in burden Tsunade quietly walked over to him. "Do you have any last requests?"

Zoro nodded "I ask for two things. I want you to declare Itachi innocent, and honor him for his contribution to the war" Tsunade quietly nodded, the Elders could hardly say no to a dying man's last request with the Hokage's support, "and this last favor is one for Naruto," he turned to face the blonde, "Naruto."

The jinchurikki stiffened "yes?"

"I've played my part in saving the world, I'll leave it to you to unite everyone as Hokage,"It was a simple statement but Naruto and even Bee and Gai began to cry, Shikamaru and Tsunade felt their eyes water.

"God dammit" Shikamaru muttered.

"Y-yeah," Naruto responded shakily, "just watch, I'll be the best damn Hokage you'll ever see. I promise!"

Nodding, Zoro turned to face the rest of the Kage and crossed his arms over his chest, not unlike the manner they were in during the finale of Thriller Bark.

"Are you ready?" Gaara asked heavily.

"Yeah, just make sure you're thorough, I'd be pissed if I died and the Juubi escaped because of you."

"Very well."

Tsunade began charging a fire technique, Raikage a lightning bolt, Gaara an artillery of sand lances, Mizukage a mixture of magma and frost, and Ōnoki a grand scale dust technique. Everyone held their techniques waiting for the signal.

Still standing tall and proud Zoro shouted to them all "DO IT!"

And the resulting conglomeration of techniques led to a burst of ultimate destruction damaging the tectonic layers under their feet and a fountain of black matter converting itself into unique fruits flying far, far away into the sky and beyond.

As for Zoro?

There was nothing left to be seen of him.

* * *

East Blue, 10 years after Gol D. Roger's execution.

Grumbling to himself as he pulled himself out of a sandy crater, A tiny body stood to face the great sea around him. He looked at his hands, tiny and pudgy, but stronger than he remembered, and looked up at the sky.

"Shit." Was the concise way chibi-Zoro summed up his new situation.

* * *

**Okay, just to be thorough. I'm making this as a series of one-shots for the "how would a stronger Zoro change the world?" fans out there. No promises about the being in chronological order, but if you have a request, I'll see what I can do. Not all one shots will be connected to one another. If you want to see a Zoro, Hirulik, Kureha and young Chopper comedy, then that will not affect one about Zoro and Franky saving Tom unless it fits somehow.**

**Reviews, compliments, criticisms and so forth are always welcome. Favorites are always a nice touch.**


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